Languages spoken in South Carolina

In October 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau released the "2009-2013 American Community Survey" which provides information on "languages spoken at home" and "ability to speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over" for the United States as a whole, states including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., selected counties, and selected cities and urban areas. The following provides aggregated survey information on languages spoken in South Carolina

Table showing languages spoken in South Carolina

Population 5 years and over
Speak only English at home
Speak a language other than English at home
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

French (incl. Patois, Cajun)

French Creole

Italian

Portuguese (incl. Portuguese Creole)

German (incl. Luxembourgian)

Yiddish

Other West Germanic languages

Scandinavian languages

Greek

Russian

Polish

Serbo-Croatian languages

Other Slavic languages

Other Indic languages

Other Indo-European languages

ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES

Chinese (incl. Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages)

Other Asian languages

Tagalog

Other Pacific Island languages

ALL OTHER LANGUAGES

Navajo

Other Native North American languages

Other and unspecified languages

BY STATE
BY COUNTY
BY CITY

Language	Number of speakers	Margin of Error	Speak English less than "Very Well"	Margin of Error
Population 5 years and over	4,381,360	491	128,257	3,036
Speak only English at home	4,081,441	4,001	(X)	(X)
Speak a language other than English at home	299,919	4,050	128,257	3,036
SPANISH AND SPANISH CREOLE	195,871	2,714	93,640	2,489
Spanish	195,870	2,714	93,640	2,489
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES	58,517	2,613	14,487	1,328
French (incl Patois, Cajun)	11,208	1,003	2,207	385
French	11,035	987	2,185	382
Patois	150	87	20	24
Cajun	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
French Creole	510	164	86	69
Italian	2,752	398	538	177
Portuguese (incl Portuguese Creole)	3,456	758	1,479	509
Portuguese	3,455	758	1,480	509
German (incl Luxembourgian)	12,662	894	1,837	289
German	12,660	894	1,835	289
Yiddish	93	74	5	9
Other West Germanic languages	1,241	273	115	70
Pennsylvania Dutch	140	133	(D)	(D)
Dutch	870	234	75	56
Afrikaans	230	126	(D)	(D)
Scandinavian languages	922	261	39	35
Swedish	475	209	20	20
Danish	195	134	(D)	(D)
Norwegian	225	127	(B)	-
Icelandic	30	31	(B)	-
Greek	2,252	458	561	199
Russian	4,307	702	1,498	372
Polish	1,700	409	524	179
Serbo-Croatian languages	713	380	34	38
Serbocroatian	245	185	(D)	(D)
Croatian	130	117	(D)	(D)
Serbian	335	306	(D)	(D)
Other Slavic languages	3,123	822	1,338	462
Bielorussian	155	177	55	63
Ukrainian	1,880	701	940	415
Czech	355	162	85	82
Slovak	140	79	65	47
Bulgarian	445	307	165	144
Macedonian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Slovene	90	78	(D)	(D)
Armenian	112	93	19	35
Persian	762	295	387	168
Hindi	2,113	388	450	176
Gujarati	4,093	828	1,282	383
Urdu	1,123	368	276	112
Other Indic languages	2,875	702	1,070	368
India nec3	710	354	245	133
Bengali	670	378	190	188
Panjabi	665	345	235	157
Marathi	410	240	60	68
Assamese	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Nepali	270	224	265	223
Sinhalese	125	86	75	66
Romany	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Other Indo-European languages	2,500	615	742	381
Jamaican Creole	320	308	210	292
Krio	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Pidgin	75	93	65	90
Gullah	205	114	65	49
Romanian	650	223	145	78
Welsh	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Irish Gaelic	160	92	(B)	-
Scottic Gaelic	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Albanian	220	151	145	113
Lithuanian	460	327	35	35
Latvian	90	74	(D)	(D)
Kurdish	250	262	75	92
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES	37,263	1,208	17,283	956
Chinese (incl Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages4)	9,812	1,015	5,283	719
Chinese	7,895	939	4,250	635
Hakka	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Cantonese	375	199	205	129
Mandarin	1,480	455	785	298
Formosan	60	63	45	58
Japanese	2,824	464	1,229	286
Korean	4,239	582	2,272	369
Mon-Khmer, Cambodian	1,227	408	561	221
Hmong	1,097	345	314	160
Thai	909	272	371	110
Laotian	833	265	451	170
Vietnamese	5,693	668	3,661	481
Other Asian languages	3,291	643	838	286
Uighur	10	27	10	27
Azerbaijani	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Turkish	550	283	170	115
Tungus	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Dravidian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Telugu	940	316	190	114
Kannada	95	64	(B)	-
Malayalam	725	358	70	69
Tamil	550	232	150	112
Burmese	205	176	175	166
Karen	65	101	60	90
Mien	50	46	(B)	-
Tagalog	6,269	616	1,977	329
Other Pacific Island languages	1,069	368	326	148
Indonesian	135	110	85	100
Malay	45	56	(B)	-
Bisayan	110	76	35	50
Sebuano	60	55	(D)	(D)
Pangasinan	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Ilocano	40	42	(B)	-
Pampangan	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Micronesian	120	86	85	78
Chamorro	130	115	(B)	-
Palau	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Ponapean	260	281	40	46
Samoan	70	41	15	18
Tongan	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Hawaiian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
ALL OTHER LANGUAGES	8,268	917	2,847	590
Navajo	6	12	6	12
Other Native North American languages	148	65	23	25
Arapaho	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Ottawa	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Apache	30	27	(D)	(D)
Nez Perce	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Dakota	10	13	(B)	-
Muskogee	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Cherokee	45	30	(B)	-
Tiwa	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
American Indian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Hungarian	593	216	119	77
Arabic	4,084	655	1,631	363
Hebrew	697	369	158	138
African languages	2,073	536	791	400
Amharic	300	210	185	119
Chadic	45	39	30	28
Cushite	230	355	230	355
Nilo-Saharan	65	112	65	112
Swahili	430	181	130	113
Bantu	145	93	30	38
Mande	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Fulani	105	76	65	66
Kru, Ibo, Yoruba	725	292	45	32
Efik	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Other and unspecified languages	667	193	119	97
Finnish	255	137	(D)	(D)
Estonian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Caucasian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Aztecan	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Mayan languages	75	87	75	87
Quechua	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Tupi-Guarani	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Uncodable	255	114	(B)	-

Notes

Number of speakers and Speak English less than "Very Well": Detailed-language estimates are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Aggregate estimates ("language category" and "language sub-category" entries) are unrounded and appear in table B16001. Detailed-language estimates may not sum to aggregate estimates because of rounding.
Margin of Error and Margin of Error: Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data. The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.
(D): Data withheld to avoid disclosure.
(B): Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate.
(X): Question does not apply.
-: Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.
3 N.E.C. stands for not elsewhere classified. These are languages where respondents indicated they spoke either Indian or Pakistan. For Indian, it cannot be determined if the respondent spoke a native American language or spoke a language from India. For Pakistan, respondents wrote in Pakistan but it cannot be determined which one of the languages spoken in Pakistan is actually being spoken. To distinguish these languages, n.e.c. is used to indicated they are not classified in any other language code.
This category includes literal write-ins of Chinese as well as Hakka, Kan, Hsiang, Cantonese, Mandarin, Fuchow, Formosan, and Wu.